Singing in the Rain
by Square Glasses
Summary: Minerva witnesses a rare moment when Albus is unaware of her presence... she thinks. MMAD


**Disclaimer – I do not own the characters in this story etc.**

**A/N – A bit of a random one. No real story to it but it's hopefully quite sweet. Read, write and be merry! - Mercury**

Singing in the Rain

Minerva McGonagall did knock. Several times. It was rare that the Headmaster of Hogwarts School was late for staff meetings. In fact Minerva was quite sure it had never happened before. Punctuality is close to Godliness in her mind and she was sure it was not far off for Albus. He would consider it rude to be late.

That was why the door Minerva was knocking at was the entrance door to Albus' quarters. She had never been inside here before. She had always felt that Albus' rooms were solely his own – a place where he can escape the staff and students and spend some private time in solitude.

"Albus?" she called from outside his door. No answer. She knocked again, louder this time, and waited. Still nothing.

Taking a deep breath and steadying the fluttering that suddenly erupted in her stomach as if a hundred wings had taken flight all at once, Minerva twisted the brass knob of Albus' door and stepped inside.

The room she entered was not at all as she had imagined. She thought it would be similar to his office – whirring instruments that sparkled and glistened, books upon books covering the shelves, papers strewn about in some kind of 'erratic order' – but as it happened it was not at all like that.

There was a single shelf that supported only seven different sized books mounted on the same wall as the fireplace. There was a small sofa at a right angle to this wall and a low table in front of the sofa. Lying open on this table was a copy of the latest edition of 'Transfiguration Today'. That was all Minerva could see. She looked around in astonishment expecting to see more and when she didn't she smiled. Albus has always had the ability to surprise her.

One thing that was very much missing in the room was the man whom it belonged to. There was a single door towards the back of the room that looked firmly closed and Minerva hesitated. That would be far more of an invasion of Albus' privacy. She spun around on her heel to face the way she came, surprised at the feeling of disappointed that was aroused in her. But then she stopped. The staff were all waiting for them and Albus himself had called the meeting after all.

Minerva turned back and looked again at the closed door. She took a step forward, and once again she hesitated. What if he was sleeping? It was eight o'clock in the morning though, so there was not much of a chance of that. Albus had always been an early riser, like herself.

"Oh, this is ridiculous," Minerva whispered forcefully to herself.

She marched forwards, fully resolved to open the door ahead. She reached it. She knocked. No answer. She knocked again. Silence. She had her hand on the handle. She twisted the knob. The door clicked open. She froze.

From the other side of the door Minerva could hear the sounds of movement. She listened hard, trying to work out what it was. Running water perhaps? Yes, that was it – she could hear the splashes of a shower, and it wasn't coming from the next room, but from the room beyond that.

Minerva pushed the door open a little further with the intent of possibly catching him before he got in. She mentally forced down the fact that that was a terrible excuse, the fact that it was most unlikely, and the fact that this was further invasion of Albus' privacy.

She had entered Albus' bedroom and, as she had expected Albus was not there. The sounds of the running shower were coming from the room opposite to where Minerva stood.

The bedroom was large, deep and red. There was of course the stone grey of the wall and floor, but there was a large dark red and gold rug that ran most of the length of the room and matched the deep red and gilded gold drapes of an enormous four-poster mahogany bed. A huge chair of the same colour stood magnificently in front of a gigantic fireplace and a book lay closed on a tiny table next to it.

Minerva moved over to see what it was that Dumbledore read in his spare time. She picked up the book and glanced across the front. 'Peter Pan and Wendy'. She smiled a second time. A muggle story about a boy who never grows up. What adult would not be intrigued by such a tale? She carefully placed the book back down where it belonged and was about to turn around when a different sound met her ears. A low humming.

Minerva looked around the room to see where it was coming from. Surely Albus didn't have one of those ridiculous dark wizard detectors. Sneaky-something-or-other. Then the humming changed pitched. Minerva's eyes shot to the door leading to the room where Albus was having his shower. This time it was a grin that spread across her face. Albus was humming in the shower.

Minerva's brain was telling her to leave. Albus had no idea that anyone was listening. But her feet would not move, in fact they were unwaveringly glued to his floor.

Apparently Albus did not know all of the words to the National Quidditch Anthem. His humming was vague and quiet, but when it came to the parts he knew, the words were belted out of him at full force. Minerva actually chuckled out loud at one point. He seemed to be enjoying himself immensely.

As soon as the singing stopped and the water pouring from the shower ceased to a steady drip… drip… drip, Minerva stepped back into the next room. She certainly did not want to catch him unawares with a single towel at his waist. An image floated into Minerva's mind as she thought this and she physically shock her head to dispel it. She was sure Albus' quarters had a strange effect on her.

Minerva sat on the seat of the sofa that was nearest the fire and waited. It faced the door to Albus' bedroom so she would know when he entered. She flipped through the magazine before her, but she had already read this month's edition. She was sure she would not have been able to concentrate anyway. The noise of the bathroom door opening had already reached her ears and Albus, still humming quietly to himself, was now moving around in his bedroom.

Within seconds the door to his living room opened and Albus strolled leisurely through it completely dried and robed in royal purple. Minerva looked up from the magazine that she wasn't reading and caught his eye.

The rush of fluttering that had been present in her stomach ever since she had entered the room suddenly powered through her entire body. She stood up silently, her jaw tightly clamped, determined not to speak until she had been spoken to.

"Minerva," Albus said, not sounding at all surprised to see her in his living room, a place where she had never set foot before. "To what do I owe this enchanting honour?"

Minerva felt her stomach execute some kind of tremendous twist as if it was attempting to grab hold of itself. Her cheeks, thankfully, remained their usual colour.

"You are late, Albus," she said simply.

"I am?" he said. "What for?"

"You know very well what for," Minerva said sternly. "You called a staff meeting for eight o'clock this morning and you are the only one who has so far not attended."

Minerva's words became quieter as she spoke. Albus had started to walk towards her. He had an unnerving smile behind his moustache and his eyes twinkled as he stepped closer.

"And you were sent to summon me?"

"No," Minerva answered, the quivering under her skin now having reached the tips of her fingers and toes, "I offered."

"Ah," Albus replied now reaching a point opposite her. "I hoped it would be you who would come," he said, puzzling Minerva further.

"What do you mean?" she asked in a whisper. Albus was very close to her now. Minerva had not moved, she seemed rooted to the spot.

"I mean," he said, "that I was hoping you would be the one who would endeavour to find me."

As he spoke he brought his hand up to Minerva's face drew a long finger from her neck down her jaw line. Minerva's breath caught in her throat. As his finger reached under her chin he pulled her gently towards him.

"I cannot continue to deny this, Minerva." Albus' voice had changed to a very quiet whisper. "Do not stand there any longer if you do not wish for this also."

Minerva did not move an inch. His eyes were smiling so tenderly down at her and she had no power to tear herself away. She saw him lower his face to hers. As there lips met, a silent explosion erupted inside Minerva's stomach. She kissed him gently back and took the final step to close the gap between them with her body and with her soul.

----------------Fin----------------


End file.
